Trump to sell new Asia policy at regional summit

President Donald Trump is expected to bill a new policy for Asia during his two-day stay in Vietnam this week, but the U.S. administration needs to follow through with concrete actions to restore waning confidence in a region weary of his erratic diplomacy.

At the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) this week in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang and his state visit later on in Hanoi, Trump will promote the concept of a “free and open Indo-pacific region”. Japan first floated this idea, tailored to push the U.S. to coalesce three other maritime democracies — Japan, Australia, and India. According to American officials, this sales pitch is aimed at demonstrating America and the Trump administration’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific region.

But political rhetoric only will not be enough to reassure a region increasingly anxious about U.S. commitment, analysts say.

A survey in March by the Iseas Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore that polled government officials, business representatives, academics and journalists in Southeast Asia found that around 75 percent of the respondents saw China, not the U.S., as the most influential player now and in the next decade. Two-thirds of respondents also viewed the U.S. less favorably than four months ago, according to the survey.

“Some of Trump’s statements and actions since he came to power have undermined the U.S. strategic position in the region, but most regional countries would like to see Washington’s continued engagement with the region,” Le Hong Hiep, a research fellow at the Iseas Yusof Ishak Institute, said.